by T'Anne Marie
“Shit, I tried; you was knocked the fuck out. I told you we was goin to get breakfast and you said go ahead. So, we went and I just brought you some back.” Kyra had a puzzled look on her face; she knew she had a few drinks but she didn’t think she was that drunk. She apologized to Notorious and grabbed the styrofoam container with her food in it. He brought her pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon, and grits. Kyra was starving, so it didn’t take her long to devour the breakfast.
“Oh yeah babe, I bought you a ora… Damn, you done already?!” Notorious stopped in mid-sentence as he was walking back in the dining area. He had just run to the restroom and came back and her plate was already clean.
“I was hungry dang; I want some more!” she replied with a big grin.
Damn, you a lil greedy muthafucka! How yo lil ass eat like that?!” Whack joked. Carmen agreed.
“Aye, yawl betta get the fuck off my woman! She can eat as much as she want!” Notorious barked playfully.
“That’s right, tell em baby!” Kyra got up, giving him a sloppy peck on the lips.
“I promise yawl make my ass hurt! Anyway… what the fuck we doin today?!” Carmen spat while rolling her eyes and twirling the gum in her mouth around her finger.
“Well, we sending yawl shopping; we got some business to handle while we out here,” Notorious stated. He wanted them away, so he and Whack could prepare their proposals. Carmen was supposed to be in on the proposal for Kyra but she had no idea she was getting proposed to as well. She just thought she was going shopping to keep Kyra away for them.
“Make sure yawl buy something for dinner tonight too. Something elegant,” Whack demanded.
“Nigga, you don’t even know what ELEGANT mean! Nigga, spell ELEGANT!” Notorious teased, as he laughed hysterically.
“Nigga, you got me fucked up. I do know what the fuck elegant mean, I’m very educated nigga! E-L-E-G-A-N-T! ELEGANT NIGGA!” Whack hissed. Notorious, Kyra, and Carmen were laughing so hard, tears were coming from their eyes.
“I promise, yawl are fuckin hilarious!” Kyra stated, holding her stomach while trying to catch her breath.
“I promise, there is never a dull moment with they asses!” Carmen agreed. After laughing and joking a bit more, Notorious and Whack gave the ladies $10,000 apiece and sent them on their way.
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Kyra and Carmen made their way to “The Falls”, one of the hottest malls in Miami. Upon arrival they saw one of the favorite stores, Bloomingdale’s. They immediately made their way in the store to see what hot new items they could purchase. As Kyra walked pass the Versace section, she noticed a bag that caught her eye and she had to have it.
“Ooh bitch, look at this bag; I’m bout to get this!” she called out to Carmen. Carmen made her way over to her friend, who was eyeing the bag as if she wanted to slop it up with a biscuit.
“Aw shit yea! That muthafucka dope!” she agreed, as she was thinking about getting her one in the opposite color.
“Yes and it’s only $1,600! I’m buying it!” Kyra squealed as she grabbed the big navy blue leather bag, with the big gold Versace emblem on the front off the rack. Carmen then grabbed the exact same bag but in red. Carmen noticed that they also had the matching heels, so they decided to get them too.
“Hello! Excuse me ma’am, do you have these in 6 and the red ones in a 6.5?” Kyra politely asked the sales lady just as she was walking pass.
“Those are $850 and that bag is $1,600, in case you didn’t know!” the frail blonde, blue eyed, young lady snapped with a major attitude.
“Bitch, she didn’t ask you how much the shit cost. If we gotta check the price tag, then evidently we can’t afford the shit! Now, can you jus do yo fuckin job and got get our fuckin shoes please!” Carmen snapped, checking the shit out of white girl Sally as she did as she was told and went and got their shoes. “These white bitches kill me thinking just cuz we young and black we can’t afford to shop in Bloomingdale’s!” she continued, as they waited for the sales lady to return.
“Girl right, I like it though! Them muthafuckas jus know we be about to steal til we break out these bands on they ass!” Kyra laughed as she threw up her hand to slap fives with her best friend. The sales lady came back with the Navy blue 6 and the red 6.5.
“Is there anything else I can help you ladies with?!” she asked cheerfully. It was like she had went in the back and came out a whole new person.
“Yea! You can hold this shit until we done shopping!” Kyra spat, as her and Carmen threw the bags on her and walked off to continue shopping. After hours of shopping spending the $10,000 their men gave them, plus some of their own money, the girls grabbed a bite to eat and made their way back to the hotel.
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When the girls got back to the hotel, they headed straight to Kyra and Notorious’ room; they knew that the guys would be there together waiting for them. Unfortunately, they were wrong; the room was empty. Kyra sat all her bags down, grabbed her room key, and the two headed to Whack and Carmen’s room hoping to find them there. Still, no luck. Instead, they found two beautiful vases filled with long stem red rose with notes attached, they read: “Get pretty and meet us on the beach at 9 p.m. SHARP!”
They knew the ladies could take all day getting ready so they made it clear they wanted them there on time. “Awww shucks!” Kyra squealed “I wonder what these niggas got planned,” she finished with the biggest kool aid smile on her face.
“Girl, I have no clue, but we shall find out! Let’s go get dressed!” Carmen squealed, as they parted ways to get pretty.
✴✴✴✴✴
(Knock, knock, knock) Carmen knocked on Kyra’s room door and waited for her to open up. “Awww shit, look at you, miss sexy classy!” Kyra complimented her friend when she opened the door. Carmen did look cute. She sported a white Calvin Klein mini dress, a pair of gold Calvin Klein pumps, and a small matching handbag. Her hair was bone straight with a part in the middle. Her makeup consisted of a small amount of gold eye shadow and lipstick that went well with her light pale skin, and her jewelry was her favorite diamond earring, necklace, and bracelet set Whack bought a couple years ago.
“Thank ya, thank ya. You lookin damn good ya self, boo!” Carmen returned the compliment. Kyra wore a white strapless Liz Claiborne pencil dress with blue stitching. She complimented it with a pair of blue Liz Claiborne pumps and a blue strapless Liz Claiborne handbag. Her long natural curly hair was pressed and slicked into a perfect bun in the back of her head, and her accessories were big white gold diamond hoop earrings, a white gold diamond pendant necklace, and a white gold diamond tennis bracelet. Her smooth even chocolate skin glowed so pretty there was no need for makeup, so she applied a thin layer of gloss to give her full lips an even more voluptuous look.
“Girl, you know I try to get my shine on! Thanks girl!” Kyra boasted, spinning around in her circle so her friend could take in her full appearance.
“You ready to roll out?” Carmen asked.
“Yep, let’s roll!” The ladies exited the hotel room and headed for the beach.
“I just thought about something; why the fuck we got on heels and we goin to the damn beach!? We gon sink in the damn sand, what the hell was we thinkin?” Carmen asked, as she burst into laughter. Kyra couldn’t even answer because her friend was right, what were they thinking. She looked at her friend with a “Shit, I don’t know” face shrugged her shoulders and busted out laughing with her.
“Shit, fuck it, at least we look good as fuck!” Kyra spat as the two continued to laugh at their blonde moment. When the two made it out the door to the beach, there was a Caucasian man standing in a black and white tuxedo and white gloves, holding a silver tray with two glasses of champagne on it.
“Right this way ladies!” he said in a stern tone after handing both of them a glass. The girls followed him down the candle lit path to an area that was beautifully decorated by the water. It was amazing. It sat a table for four covered with a white tablecloth,
fancy dishes with matching silverware, candles, a bouquet of roses, and champagne ice buckets. The sand was covered with red and white rose petals, and there was a small group of men playing violins.
“Have a seat, ladies; your men will be with you shortly!” the man stated, as he pulled out their chairs and seated them.
“Oh my gosh, Carmen, what the hell are our men up too!? They got us being treated like stars and shit! It’s all beautiful out here. I got butterflies; I’m nervous!” Kyra said excitedly, without even taking a breath.
“Girl right, I don’t know what’s goin on; shit, I’m nervous too!” she replied, smiling. Carmen really was excited; she knew Whack and her brother planned the trip for Kyra’s proposal but they hadn’t used any of her ideas and now, all of a sudden, she was getting surprises too. Carmen knew her man; she knew he was up to something and she couldn’t wait to find out what it was.
After about five minutes, their men walked up looking as scrumptious as ever. Carmen and Kyra instantly got hot between the legs. They knew they had some fine ass men, but they had never seen them in this light. They were SHARP! You would think they were spying on their women when they were getting dressed because they matched them to a tee. Notorious was dappered down in an all-white Amani three-piece suit with a royal blue tie, pocket handkerchief and cuff links. He sported a pair of royal blue gators and his jewelry consisted of a pair of fat diamond earrings and a big face Rolex for his arm candy. Whack sported the same suit, only he had a gold bow tie, pocket handkerchief and cufflinks. His shoes were gold snake skin and his jewelry were fat gold nugget earrings with the matching nugget bracelet and pinky ring.
“Well, I be damn; don’t yawl look nice!” Carmen complimented as the stood and embraced their men. As they took in their scents, they began to get weak in the knees. They smelled just as good as they looked. Notorious gazed into Kyra’s eyes before placing a soft kiss on her lips. She was so beautiful, he was ready to skip dinner and get down on one knee right then.
“Are you ready for the appetizers, Mr. Dorian, Sir?” the stern voice server asked, interrupting the couples embrace.
“Yea that’s cool, let’s get this show on the road!” he replied, winking his eye at the girls. The four took a seat and began to converse as they waited on the appetizers.
“So, how was yawl day? Yawl lookin all good and shit. Baby over here shining, sis over there shining, I see yawl!” Whack said, as he sipped on his glass of champagne.
The ladies smiled. “Our day was good! We had a ball shopping, until I had to check some frail ass prejudice white hoe up in Bloomingdale’s!” Carmen spat and rolled her neck, just thinking about it was getting her pissed all over again.
“Awww shit, here yo hostile ass go!” Notorious laughed and shook his head. Whack began to laugh with him.
“I know my baby need anger management, but sometimes that shit turn a nigga on!” he confessed.
“Nah but for real the bitch deserved it, I was gon get at the bitch!” Kyra chimed in to defend her friend. “She lucky Carmen got that ass first cuz she shut her down nicely, I wasn’t gon be that pleasant!” she continued.
“Damn, what the broad do?!” Whack asked curiously.
“Carmen asked her very nicely to go get 2 pair of Versace heels we were about to purchase. She looked us up and down and told us the price of the shoes and the bags we were about to purchase with a stank ass attitude, like we couldn’t afford the shit! We ain’t dumb; she was stereotyping the shit out of us! So, we had to let her ass know, bitch we can put yo ass on payroll!” Kyra spat, as her and Carmen burst into laughter and slapped fives.
“Yawl ass crazy!” Whack shook his head and laughed. The waiter placed a platter of clean and de-veined raw shrimp in the middle of the table with a bowl of cocktail sauce in the center. He also brought out a platter of fried calamari and a couple of oysters.
“Your appetizers, Sir, dinner will be served shortly,” the waiter announced before walking off. The four continued to converse as they ate their appetizers and immediately after, dinner. Dinner was stuffed chicken and mashed potatoes with sautéed asparagus.
After dinner, the waiter cleared the table and asked if they were ready for dessert. Notorious informed him to give them a few moments, so they could dance their food down. The couples slow danced a while as the violinist played various R&B songs on their violins.
“This is so beautiful! I love you, babe!” Kyra whispered as she laid her head on Notorious chest as they swayed back and forth.
“I love you more!” he replied, kissing her on the forehead. The love they had for each other was deep, and their bond was unbreakable. He was the Romeo to her Juliette and she was the Bonnie to his Clyde. They had two beautiful twin baby girls and life was good, what more could they ask for.
“Why you cryin boo?” Whack asked, as he wiped the tears from Carmen’s eyes.
“Because I’ve never experienced anything so beautiful and for you to be so good to lil Ole me makes me wonder what I do to deserve such a good man!” Carmen confessed, as she cracked a small smile and gazed into Whack’s chinky eyes.
“Nah boo, I’m the lucky one! What did I do to deserve you? You gave me my son and you treat a nigga like gold when I know I’m a fuckin handful. You keep a nigga from makin fucked up decisions too; I don’t know what I would do without you or yo fam, to be honest. Yawl took me in and for that I’m forever grateful. I will always take care of you boo!” Whack replied sincerely. Tears began to well the corners of his eyes as he expressed his feelings to Carmen. The couple shared a long passionate kiss, until they were interrupted by the waiter’s stern voice.
“Excuse me Mr. Dorian, Sir, there’s a Mr. Brian McKnight waiting for you in the special area you arranged sir.” The ladies’ eyes bucked and lit up at the news they had just heard. Notorious and Whack looked at each other, gave dap, and led their ladies to the special area they had set up. Notorious’ father was a global nigga and knew people from all over. He was friends with Brian’s manager, so it was nothing for him to get him to come sing for Notorious and Whack’s wedding. Murder was always able to make shit happen, even while being incarcerated. When the couples made it to the special area, the ladies became breathless. This area was even more beautiful than the dinner area. It was still on part of the beach, but it was decorated like wedding chapel and there was a preacher standing next to Brian McKnight, who was holding a microphone at the end of the red carpet they had rolled down the sand that led to the small decorated podium. Notorious and Whack had gone all out and the ladies appreciated every second of it.
“Say you’ve seen too many things, that turned out to be too good to be true. Against your better judgment opened up your heart, til you found the joke was on you. Looking out on the rest of our lives, if we’re gonna be together or apart. About the only way that I know how to come, is right straight from my heart.”
Brian began to sing his hit song, “Only One for Me” as Notorious and Whack walked hand in hand down the red carpet toward the Reverend. Kyra’s heart began to pound in her chest as she was nervous and anxious to see what was next. Carmen still had no clue that this was her wedding too; she just knew her and Whack were just a best man and maid of honor. After making it to the podium in front of the Reverend, Brian McKnight wrapped up his beautiful selection and the Reverend began to speak.
“Tonight is a special occasion. This ceremony was put together for the unity of love. Ladies, these young men brought you both out here to ask for your hand in marriage!”
Carmen’s eyes lit up with excitement when she heard those words. I knew his sneaky ass was up to something, she thought as she plastered an enormous smile on her face. Whack looked down into her eyes with a sly grin. The guys had put together this big wedding and didn’t even know what the ladies’ response was going to be; they were just that cocky and confident.
The Reverend continued, “Dorian Baker, do you take Za’Kyra Jackson to be your lawful wedded wife? To have and to hold, throug
h sickness in health, til death do you part?”
“I do!” Notorious answered sincerely. He asked Kyra the same question.
“Yes, I do!” she replied, as tears began to slowly roll down her cheeks.
The Reverend then turned to Whack and Carmen. “Rashad Smalls Jr, do you take Carmen Baker to be your lawful wedded wife? To have and to hold, through sickness and health, til death do you part?”
“Yes sir, I do!”
Asking Carmen the same, she glared into her soon to be husband’s eyes and said, “I do!”
Whack read some vows he had jotted down on a napkin and Notorious shared some words from his heart. After placing rings on the girls’ hands, the Reverend pronounced the couples husband and wife. The fellas kissed their brides and Brian began singing another one of his hit songs “Never Felt This Way”
“When I look into your eyes then I realize, that all I need is you in my life, all I need is you in my life. Cuz I’ve never felt this way about loving, never felt so good. Never felt this way about loving, it feels so good.”
He sung with all his might as the newlyweds slow danced and enjoyed the moment. This was the happiest moment of their lives and they couldn’t wait to see what the future had to offer them. Life was good.
Chapter 13
12 Years Later
“I still can’t believe she’s gone,” Carmen cried as she, Whack, Kyra, and her brother sat in the living room of Grams’ house.
“I know right, and didn’t have a sick bone in her body. I guess it was just her time,” Notorious replied.
“Well at least she went peacefully; it was just so unexpected though,” Kyra chimed in.
“Grams made it to 92; she lived a full life. A good one at that. I know this might sound selfish but I wish I had more time with her; she was the only parent I had left! That lady treated me like her own,” Whack cried. He was taking the loss a little harder than everyone else. It had been two weeks since Grams’ passing. Whack was trying to reach her one morning and got no answer. After several attempts, he decided to just go over there. When he arrived, he knew something was wrong because he didn’t smell the aroma of food coming from underneath the front door. No matter what, Grams always cooked breakfast even if it was just only for her. When Whack walked in, the house was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. He called out for Grams a few times, only to get no reply. He ran up to her bedroom where she was in her bed laid on her back with her eyes shut. He thought she may have been sleep so he called out her name a couple more times, but she didn’t budge. When he reached out to touch her, she was as cold as ice. That broke Whack down in the worst way and he hadn’t been the same since. He had been with Grams since she had found him on her porch at the young age of 11, and she had been like his grandmother ever since.
